Sir Cliff Richard: I feel ‘tarnished’ by sex abuse allegations
Sir Cliff Richard still feels "tarnished" by sex abuse allegations.
The ‘Summer Holiday’ hitmaker – who has been cleared of all allegations made against him – says the Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) terminology of "insufficient evidence to prosecute" makes it sound like he did commit a crime.
He said: "To get the news a couple of days ago telling me that it was good news from the CPS was just fantastic. It’s very difficult for me to explain to people what it’s been feeling like, what it felt like for me, to be an innocent, but having these vile accusations thrown at me.
"The CPS, I mean, it’s just what they do … there are certain terminologies that they have to use, and in this case they never say there is no evidence, they just say insufficient evidence, nothing on which we can prosecute. And so in a way I still feel tarnished because insufficient suggests that maybe there’s something there and I know there wasn’t."
And the 75-year-old star – whose Berkshire home was raided by police in August 2014 whilst the BBC filmed – has hit back at those who decided to name him as he has become "collateral damage" for the last two years.
He added: "In the case of people like myself or anybody that is not charged with, this is sexual molestation, the name should never be out there, unless you have been charged, and here I am 22 months and a week later and no charge. I don’t like the idea of being collateral damage, and that’s what I’ve been for 22 months."
And Cliff admits he is now "very cagey" about having his photograph taken with young people incase ill informed members of the public get the wrong end of the stick.
When asked if the ordeal has changed how he trusts people, he told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: "Yes to a certain extent it has, I am very cagey now when I am having pictures taken with people. And I don’t like that feeling, because I’ve always had photographs taken with grandparents and their grandchildren.
"I have had my arms around their grandchildren, that’s my life, I’m a family entertainer and that’s what I have done. But that’s one thing I am going to have to try and get rid of."
